Firebirds Downed by Division I No. 10 University of Maryland in Exhibition

COLLEGE PARK, MD - The reigning East Coast Conference champion University of the District of Columbia Firebirds visited Division I's No. 10 nationally-ranked University of Maryland Terrapins at the XFinity Center on Saturday, November 8th. Senior guard Telisha Turner led all scorers with 22 points, but the Firebirds were defeated by a final score of 118-61. 

Senior forward Denikka Brent (Mechanical Engineering  - Chesapeake, VA/Booker T. Washington HS), a First Team All-ECC selection along with Turner (Criminal Justice – Wilmington, DE/Harcum) last season, made 10-of-14 from the free-throw line to finish with 12 points while also adding six rebounds. Junior reserve guard Tajruba Baldwin-Kollore (Criminal Justice – Newport News, VA/Denbigh HS) added 11 points, and junior forward Tatyana Calhoun (Architecture – Disputanta, VA/Sussex Central HS) led the team with seven rebounds.

Maryland, ranked No. 10 in preseason NCAA Division I polls and picked the favorite to win the conference championship as first-year members of the Big-10 Conference, put six scorers in double-figures, including a team-high 21 points by reserve guard Brene Moseley. Four of the Terrapins' starting five scored in double-figures, including  center Brionna Jones with 17 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

The Terps raced out to an 18-2 lead as they held UDC without a field goal for the first seven minutes of action. Turner then buried a three-pointer for the first Firebird field goal of the season, and she went on to score eight of UDC's first 10 points to pull the Firebirds within 10, 20-10. A pair of free-throws by team newcomer Arielle Ward helped UDC pull within eight, 20-12, at the 10:40 mark, but that was as close as the Firebirds would get the rest of the way. Turner led all first half scorers with 14 points, but UDC, which turned the ball over 10 times, trailed 46-29 at halftime.

Maryland put the game completely out of reach when it opened the second half on a 30-4 run to widen their lead to 76-33. The Terps led by as many as 61 before settling for a 118-61 victory.

Next up, UDC will take on the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference's Georgian Court on Friday, November 14th at 3 p.m.